Heredia v. CCI
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING 15 FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 6/20/2017. Second Amended Complaint due within twenty-one (21) days. (Attachments: # 1 Amended Complaint Form). (Jessen, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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AARON AUGUSTINE HEREDIA,
Plaintiff,
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ORDER DISMISSING FIRST AMENDED
COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND
v.
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Case No. 1:16-cv-00788-JLT (PC)
(Doc. 15)
CCI,
Defendant.
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21-DAY DEADLINE
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Plaintiff brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of his rights when he
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was attacked by another inmate while he was on the phone. Because he fails to link any of the
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defendants to his factual allegations, the First Amended Complaint is DISMISSED and Plaintiff
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is granted one last opportunity to file an amended complaint to address the deficiencies.
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A.
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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a
Screening Requirement
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governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The
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Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally
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frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary
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relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2); 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i)-(iii).
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///
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B.
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Plaintiff complains of an incident that occurred at California Correctional Institute
Summary of Plaintiff=s Complaint
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(“CCI”) in Tehachapi, California and now names the following defendants: CCI Warden Kim
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Holland; Associate Warden T. Haak; Captain Dave Crounse; Lieutenant Luis Machado; Sergeant
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D. Bonnfil; Roger Groves, CDW; Sharon McKay, ERO: Karen Dugan-Berry, LRA: Lieutenant S.
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Archuleta; CCI Jane Doe; and CCII Jane Doe.
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Plaintiff alleges that he was using the phone at his assigned time when he was attacked by
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a “level 4 inmate.” Plaintiff ended up being shot twice by the tower officer with a “block gun”
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and sprayed with 2 cans of pepper-spray during the incident. Plaintiff alleges that he was taken
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out of a side door and dragged across the yard where he was kicked and yelled at by “C/O’s.”
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The C/Os picked him up and pushed him down and put him in the program office cage, stripped
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naked. Plaintiff was “questioned by staff” and the nurse told Plaintiff that the inmate who
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attacked him was drunk. Plaintiff was taken to the A Yard SHU that night and could not see at all
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due to the pepper spray. He also could not use his left leg because of being shot. Plaintiff alleges
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he was not given medical attention for two days and wore “paper underwear for 15 days, no
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shower.” Plaintiff alleges he was Level II and if he had been housed in the correct housing the
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incident would not have happened. Plaintiff alleges that he did not belong on the Level 3 yard
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and that “Jane Doe custody counselor knew my custody level ‘tags’ were placed on my cell
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door.” “Jane Doe Case Records Manager CCI knew” Plaintiff was not placed in the correct
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housing unit. “All other staff” allegedly put Plaintiff’s “life in harms way.” Plaintiff seeks
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monetary damages and requests the “115 write up” and everything about this incident be removed
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from his C-File.
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Plaintiff has not stated any cognizable claims as he fails to link any of the individuals
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named as defendants to his factual allegations. However, Plaintiff may be able to correct the
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deficiencies in his pleading. Thus, he is being given the pleading requirements, the legal
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standards for claims he has identified, and ONE LAST OPPORTUNITY to amend his pleading.
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C.
Pleading Requirements
1.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)
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"Rule 8(a)'s simplified pleading standard applies to all civil actions, with limited
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exceptions," none of which applies to section 1983 actions. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A., 534
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U.S. 506, 512 (2002); Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 8(a). A complaint must contain "a short and plain
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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . ." Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 8(a).
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"Such a statement must simply give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and
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the grounds upon which it rests." Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 512.
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Detailed factual allegations are not required, but A[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a
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cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.@ Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
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U.S. 662, 678 (2009), quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007).
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Plaintiff must set forth Asufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to >state a claim that is
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plausible on its face.=@ Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Factual
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allegations are accepted as true, but legal conclusions are not. Iqbal. at 678; see also Moss v. U.S.
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Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009); Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-557.
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While Aplaintiffs [now] face a higher burden of pleadings facts . . . ,@ Al-Kidd v. Ashcroft,
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580 F.3d 949, 977 (9th Cir. 2009), the pleadings of pro se prisoners are still construed liberally
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and are afforded the benefit of any doubt. Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010).
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However, "the liberal pleading standard . . . applies only to a plaintiff's factual allegations," Neitze
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v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 330 n.9 (1989), "a liberal interpretation of a civil rights complaint may
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not supply essential elements of the claim that were not initially pled," Bruns v. Nat'l Credit
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Union Admin., 122 F.3d 1251, 1257 (9th Cir. 1997) quoting Ivey v. Bd. of Regents, 673 F.2d 266,
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268 (9th Cir. 1982), and courts are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences, Doe I v. Wal-
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Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation
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omitted). The “sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully” is not sufficient, and
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“facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability” fall short of satisfying the
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plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S. Ct. at 1949; Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.
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If he chooses to file a first amended complaint, Plaintiff should make it as concise as
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possible in twenty-five pages or less. He should merely state which of his constitutional rights he
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feels were violated by each Defendant and its factual basis.
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2.
Linkage Requirement
The Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. ' 1983) requires that there be an actual connection or link
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between the actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by
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Plaintiff. See Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423
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U.S. 362 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that A[a] person >subjects= another to the deprivation
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of a constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an affirmative act,
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participates in another=s affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to
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do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.@ Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743
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(9th Cir. 1978). In order to state a claim for relief under section 1983, Plaintiff must link each
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named defendant with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of
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Plaintiff=s federal rights.
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Plaintiff fails to link any individual defendants to any of his factual allegations. Plaintiff
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must clearly state which individuals he feels are responsible for each violation of his
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constitutional rights and the factual basis for each of his claims against a specific individual
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defendant. Plaintiff’s complaint must put each defendant on notice of Plaintiff=s claims against
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him or her. See Austin v. Terhune, 367 F.3d 1167, 1171 (9th Cir. 2004).
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D.
Legal Standards
1.
Eighth Amendment -- Failure to Protect
"The treatment a prisoner receives in prison and the conditions under which he is confined
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are subject to scrutiny under the Eighth Amendment." Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832,
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114 S.Ct. 1970 (1994) (citing Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 31 (1993)). Prison officials
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have a duty "to take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of inmates, which has been
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interpreted to include a duty to protect prisoners." Labatad v. Corrections Corp. of America, 714
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F.3d 1155, 1160 (citing Farmer, 511 U.S. at 832-33; Hearns v. Terhune, 413 F.3d 1036, 1040
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(9th Cir. 2005)).
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To establish a violation of this duty, the prisoner must "show that the officials acted with
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deliberate indifference to threat of serious harm or injury to an inmate." Labatad, at 1160 (citing
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Gibson v. County of Washoe, 290 F.3d 1175, 1187 (9th Cir. 2002). This involves both objective
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and subjective components.
First, objectively, the alleged deprivation must be "sufficiently serious" and where a
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failure to prevent harm is alleged, "the inmate must show that he is incarcerated under conditions
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posing a substantial risk of serious harm." Id. at 834, quoting Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337,
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349, 101 S.Ct. 2392 (1981). Second, subjectively, the prison official must "know of and
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disregard an excessive risk to inmate health or safety." Id. at 837; Anderson v. County of Kern,
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45 F.3d 1310, 1313 (9th Cir. 1995). A prison official must "be aware of facts from which the
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inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and . . . must also draw the
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inference." Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837, 114 S.Ct. 1970. Liability may follow only if a prison
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official "knows that inmates face a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by
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failing to take reasonable measures to abate it." Id. at 847, 114 S.Ct. 1970.
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Plaintiff’s allegations fail to show that any of the individuals he named as defendants
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knew that he was in the wrong housing unit, and the factual basis showing their knowledge that
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he was improperly housed. Plaintiff’s allegations that all of the named defendants knew he had
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been placed in the wrong housing unit are conclusory and need not be accepted as true. Iqbal,
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556 U.S. at 678.
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2.
Eighth Amendment -- Medical Care
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Prison officials violate the Eighth Amendment if they are “deliberate[ly] indifferen[t] to [a
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prisoner’s] serious medical needs.” Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976). “A medical need
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is serious if failure to treat it will result in ‘“significant injury or the unnecessary and wanton
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infliction of pain.”’” Peralta v. Dillard, 744 F.3d 1076, 1081-82 (2014) (quoting Jett v. Penner,
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439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir.2006) (quoting McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1059 (9th
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Cir.1992), overruled on other grounds by WMX Techs., Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133 (9th
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Cir.1997) (en banc))
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To maintain an Eighth Amendment claim based on medical care in prison, a plaintiff must
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first “show a serious medical need by demonstrating that failure to treat a prisoner’s condition
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could result in further significant injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain. Second,
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the plaintiff must show the defendants’ response to the need was deliberately indifferent.”
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Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1122 (9th Cir. 2012) (quoting Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096
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(quotation marks omitted)).
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As to the first prong, indications of a serious medical need “include the existence of an
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injury that a reasonable doctor or patient would find important and worthy of comment or
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treatment; the presence of a medical condition that significantly affects an individual’s daily
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activities; or the existence of chronic and substantial pain.” Colwell v. Bannister, 763 F.3d 1060,
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1066 (9th Cir. 2014) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); accord Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at
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1122; Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1131 (9th Cir. 2000). Plaintiff fails to allege what his
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medical condition was that that he believes constituted a serious medical need.
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As to the second prong, deliberate indifference is “a state of mind more blameworthy than
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negligence” and “requires ‘more than ordinary lack of due care for the prisoner’s interests or
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safety.’ ” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 835 (1994) (quoting Whitley, 475 U.S. at 319).
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Deliberate indifference is shown where a prison official “knows that inmates face a substantial
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risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to abate it.”
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Id., at 847. In medical cases, this requires showing: (a) a purposeful act or failure to respond to a
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prisoner’s pain or possible medical need and (b) harm caused by the indifference. Wilhelm, 680
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F.3d at 1122 (quoting Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096). “A prisoner need not show his harm was
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substantial; however, such would provide additional support for the inmate’s claim that the
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defendant was deliberately indifferent to his needs.” Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096, citing McGuckin, 974
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F.2d at 1060.
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Deliberate indifference is a high legal standard. Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1060
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(9th Cir.2004). “Under this standard, the prison official must not only ‘be aware of the facts from
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which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists,’ but that person
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‘must also draw the inference.’ ” Id. at 1057 (quoting Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837). “‘If a prison
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official should have been aware of the risk, but was not, then the official has not violated the
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Eighth Amendment, no matter how severe the risk.’” Id. (quoting Gibson v. County of Washoe,
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Nevada, 290 F.3d 1175, 1188 (9th Cir. 2002)).
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Plaintiff must first allege facts that show he had a condition which constituted a serious
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medical need. Then he must allege facts to show that each individual defendant he feels acted
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deliberately indifferent to his condition, knew that he suffered from the condition and
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intentionally chose action contrary to his medical requirements.
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3.
Access to Courts
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Inmates have a fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts. Lewis v. Casey,
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518 U.S. 343, 346 (1996); Silva v. Di Vittorio, 658 F.3d 1090, 1101 (9th Cir. 2011); Phillips v.
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Hust, 588 F.3d 652, 655 (9th Cir. 2009). Claims for denial of access to the courts may arise from
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the frustration or hindrance of “a litigating opportunity yet to be gained” (forward-looking access
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claim) or from the loss of a meritorious suit that cannot now be tried (backward-looking claim).
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Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 412-15 (2002).
In either instance, “the injury requirement is not satisfied by just any type of frustrated
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legal claim.” Lewis, 518 U.S. at 354. Inmates do not enjoy a constitutionally protected right “to
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transform themselves into litigating engines capable of filing everything from shareholder
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derivative actions to slip-and-fall claims.” Id. at 355. Rather, the type of legal claim protected is
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limited to direct criminal appeals, habeas petitions, and civil rights actions such as those brought
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under section 1983 to vindicate basic constitutional rights. Id. at 354 (quotations and citations
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omitted). “Impairment of any other litigating capacity is simply one of the incidental (and
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perfectly constitutional) consequences of conviction and incarceration.” Id. at 355 (emphasis in
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original).
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To assert a forward-looking access claim, the non-frivolous “underlying cause of action
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and its lost remedy must be addressed by allegations in the complaint sufficient to give fair notice
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to a defendant.” Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 416 (2002). To state such a claim, the
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plaintiff must describe this “predicate claim . . . well enough to apply the ‘non-frivolous’ test and
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to show that the ‘arguable’ nature of the underlying claim is more than hope.” Id. It is not
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enough for Plaintiff merely to conclude that the claim was non-frivolous. The complaint should
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instead “state the underlying claim in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) just
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as if it were being independently pursued, and a like plain statement should describe any remedy
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available under the access claim and presently unique to it.” Id. at 417-418.
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Moreover, when a prisoner asserts that he was denied access to the courts and seeks a
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remedy for a lost opportunity to present a legal claim, he must show: (1) the loss of a non-
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frivolous or arguable underlying claim; (2) the official acts that frustrated the litigation; and (3) a
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remedy that may be awarded as recompense but that is not otherwise available in a future suit.
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Phillips v. Hust, 477 F.3d 1070, 1076 (9th Cir.2007) (citing Christopher, 536 U.S. at 413-414,
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overruled on other grounds, Hust v. Phillips, 555 U.S. 1150, 129 S.Ct. 1036 (2009) (reversed and
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remanded Phillips v. Hust, on qualified immunity grounds without change or discussion of
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elements of access to court claims)). Plaintiff fails to state any allegations to even suggest that he
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has lost an underlying protected claim because of the actions he alleges in this case, let alone link
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any such allegations to a specific individual named as a defendant in this action.
4.
Supervisory Liability
Plaintiff was previously informed that supervisory personnel are generally not liable under
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section 1983 for the actions of their employees under a theory of respondeat superior and,
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therefore, when a named defendant holds a supervisory position, the causal link between him and
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the claimed constitutional violation must be specifically alleged. See Fayle v. Stapley, 607 F.2d
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858, 862 (9th Cir. 1979); Mosher v. Saalfeld, 589 F.2d 438, 441 (9th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 442
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U.S. 941 (1979). To state a claim for relief under section 1983 based on a theory of supervisory
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liability, Plaintiff must allege some facts that would support a claim that supervisory defendants
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either: personally participated in the alleged deprivation of constitutional rights; knew of the
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violations and failed to act to prevent them; or promulgated or "implemented a policy so deficient
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that the policy 'itself is a repudiation of constitutional rights' and is 'the moving force of the
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constitutional violation.'" Hansen v. Black, 885 F.2d 642, 646 (9th Cir. 1989) (internal citations
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omitted); Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989). Under section 1983, liability may
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not be imposed on supervisory personnel for the actions of their employees under a theory of
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respondeat superior. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677. "In a § 1983 suit or a Bivens action - where masters
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do not answer for the torts of their servants - the term 'supervisory liability' is a misnomer." Id.
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Knowledge and acquiescence of a subordinate's misconduct is insufficient to establish liability;
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each government official is only liable for his or her own misconduct. Id.
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A>[B]are assertions . . . amount[ing] to nothing more than a Aformulaic recitation of the
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elements@ of a constitutional discrimination claim,= for the purposes of ruling on a motion to
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dismiss [and thus also for screening purposes], are not entitled to an assumption of truth.@ Moss,
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572 F.3d at 969 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 1951 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555)). ASuch
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allegations are not to be discounted because they are >unrealistic or nonsensical,= but rather
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because they do nothing more than state a legal conclusion B even if that conclusion is cast in the
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form of a factual allegation.@ Id. Thus, any allegations that supervisory personnel such as a
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Warden is somehow liable because of the acts of those under his or her supervision does not state
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a cognizable claim.
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Despite previously being given these standards for claims against supervisory personnel,
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Plaintiff fails to state anything other than legal conclusions against any of the supervisory
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defendants named in this action.
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E.
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For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint is dismissed and he is
CONCLUSION
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granted ONE FINAL OPPORTUNITY to amend his pleading by filing a second amended
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complaint within 21 days. If Plaintiff needs an extension of time to comply with this order,
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Plaintiff shall file a motion seeking an extension of time no later than 21 days from the date of
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service of this order.
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Plaintiff must demonstrate in any second amended complaint how the conditions
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complained of have resulted in a deprivation of his constitutional rights. See Ellis v. Cassidy, 625
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F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). The second amended complaint must allege in specific terms how each
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named defendant is involved. There can be no liability under section 1983 unless there is some
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affirmative link or connection between a defendant's actions and the claimed deprivation. Rizzo
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v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980); Johnson v.
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Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978).
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Plaintiff's second amended complaint should be brief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Such a short
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and plain statement must "give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds
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upon which it rests." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) quoting Conley v.
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Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957). Although accepted as true, the "[f]actual allegations must be
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[sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the speculative level . . . ." Twombly, 550 U.S. 127, 555
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(2007) (citations omitted).
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Plaintiff is further reminded that an amended complaint supercedes the original, Lacey v.
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Maricopa County, Nos. 09-15806, 09-15703, 2012 WL 3711591, at *1 n.1 (9th Cir. Aug. 29,
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2012) (en banc), and must be "complete in itself without reference to the prior or superceded
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pleading," Local Rule 220.
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The Court provides Plaintiff with opportunity to amend to cure the deficiencies identified
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by the Court in this order. Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448-49 (9th Cir. 1987). Plaintiff
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may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, unrelated claims in his second amended
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complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) (no "buckshot" complaints).
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Based on the foregoing, the Court ORDERS:
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1.
Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint is dismissed, with leave to amend;
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2.
The Clerk's Office shall send Plaintiff a civil rights complaint form; and
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3.
Within 21 days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file a second
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amended complaint curing the deficiencies identified by the Court in this order, or
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a notice of voluntary dismissal.
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If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order, this action will be dismissed for failure to obey a
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court order and for failure to state a claim.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
June 20, 2017
/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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